One

I dipped my hands in the river and splashed water in my face. I looked down at the river water, watching the blood from my hands and face drip off, into the rushing water below me. A month ago it would've made me gag, but now it was just normal to see blood. I turned back and looked at the camp. It wasn't my camp of course. I couldn't afford the supplies anyways. Not that it mattered what I could afford, considering I knew how to kill. That's all that really mattered nowadays. The moonlight gave the river an eery glow, and in some spots I could even look at my reflection. Looking now, I couldn't recognize the women I saw. Her war paint purple, making a streak from her forehead down to eye, then in two tear looking streaks across her cheek. That enough, made her look different. Although it didn't stop there. Her eyes had always been black as night. No color at all, but now they seemed crueler, if that was possible. Thin scars went from her lip, to her jaw, to her high pointed ears.
I sighed, finishing my examination of the women in the water. Of me. Pulling myself out of the river, I walked back over to the rock where I left my clothes. The outfit was still there. It was red armor, light but strong. Perfect for someone like me. It had boots, gloves, and a cowl too. It was, in fact, a gift from the Dark Brotherhood. Though I was with them, I rarely did contracts. They just got boring. If I was going to kill, it wouldn't be for some freaks that live in a cave. Maybe Sithis, but he wasn't the one giving orders. By the divine, he was very likely not real! Muttering, I pulled on the armor and headed to "my" camp. The fire was still going, but would be out soon. Stepping over the dead bodies, I walked to the fire and sat by it, nudging one of the bodies out of the way. "Sorry, Monsieur." I mumbled to the dead. A shriek came from the sky, but I didn't look. I knew very well what a dragon sounded like. I also knew that it wouldn't come after me. There was no point in hitting such a small target when a town was just a day away by foot. Looking down, I see a small pile of meat. It still looked good, so I picked up a dead rabbit and took out my dagger. Skinning animals was easy now, though it took forever to figure out.
By the time I was done, I had a clean rabbit fur, and meat cooking. "Ahem."
I let out a breath, hearing whoever was behind me try to get my attention. Looking behind me I saw Astrid leaning against a tree.  "What do you want?"
Her eyes flickered, looking at my appearance and surroundings. "Just checking in. Word around the brotheren is the hag lives on.." her eyes narrowed slightly at me. "But I told them, no, that couldn't be. I had sent you out over a week ago to finish her."
"I've been busy." Was all I said, standing up. She took a step towards me. Every bone in my body screamed challenge. But I just laughed at her.
Astrid took out her short sword and pointed it at my neck. "Look here, I except that girl to be dead within 24 hours. We already have been paid, we have to complete the contract."
I still have a cruel smile on my face. " She'll be dead, don't worry."  Astrid lowered the sword, stepping back.
"Fine." she turned to go.
"Wait!" I said, stopping her. I then picked up a decaying body and threw it at her. "Take care of that? Will you?" I burst into insane laughter, not the happy sort, but of someone too far demented to see right from wrong. Astrid stepped back, glaring.
"Your going to burn in hell Sabrina."
"I plan on it. See you there Astrid!" And with that she stormed away from me.
The meat was done, and after having a short meal, I piled the dead bodies further from camp so the stench wouldn't wake me, and crawled under a tent onto a bedroll to sleep.

Later the next day

"Hello." A voice came from behind me as I helped my horse into the stables outside Solitude.
"What do you want?" I asked a little hesitantly, turning around fully to see him. My brain immediately marked him as some elf, like myself.
"Just never seen you here before, thought I'd be polite and welcome you," he answered, giving a slight smile. I wasn't moved.
"I lived here as a child, and I'm not staying long." I said, my voice taking an edgy tone. He just nodded.
"Fair enough, I'll take care of your horse if you'd like...." I nodded at him and then walked away, leaving the horse to him, figuring he worked at the stables. Once in Solitude, a huge headache started to pound through my skull. I held back a groan and headed right to the Winking Skeever. Nothing had changed since I was young, so it was feeling pretty..home like. I ignored it and walked to the owner.
"Greetings." The tall man said with a smile upon my arrival. I nodded at him, giving a slight smile trying not to be bothered by the headache which was slowly growing worse.
"Got any drinks?" I asked lamely, wanting my dreaded headache to be gone.
"Course, M'lady. What will you have? Nord meed maybe?" He asked me, a huge grin on his face. I just nodded, not really caring the type of drink. He put out his hand to shake. "Corpulus Vinius at your service. I'll get that right away, on the house." I smiled as best possible.
"Sabrina. It's a pleasure."  I stalked off holding my head with my hand, the headache getting worse. I sat down at a table that head bread and cheese set out. I picked at it, nibbling. Corpulus soon arrived with her drink and handed it to her. She gratefully took it and downed it in a minute. He stared at her for a moment then laughed.
"Long day M'lady?" he asked. I scoffed.
"Long life." That got a few laughs out of him. The drink had dimmed my headache, so I laughed a bit too. He smiled and called for a song, filling up my cup again. I drank it before the person even could arrive. The girl who came, Lisette, was a Bard. Lisette smiled dreamily at Corpulus.
"A request sir?" He just grinned, ignorant to it all. He handed me yet another drink.
"The usual." Lisette nodded and started to sing.
"We drink to our youth, to days come and gone. For the Age of Agression, is just about done.We'll drive out the Stormcloaks and restore what we own. With our blood and steel we'll take back our home. Down with Ulfric the killer of kings, on the day of your death we'll drink and we'll sing.We're the children of Skyrim, and we fight all our lives, And when Sovngarde beckons every one of us dies! But this land is ours and we'll see it wiped clean, of the scourge that has sullied our hopes and our dreams."
I sat and listened accepting drink after drink. Eventually my drinks were getting to my head. When she finised I clapped madly, before yelling non sense I can't remember. Then I folded my arms on the table in front of me and rested my head on them, feeling a bit dizzy. Corpulus shook his head. I could vaguely remember hearing him utter the words, "Should of guessed." With that he picked me up and took me to a room. I laid on the bed awake for awhile in a daze before finally falling asleep.
I awoke a bit later, thankfully no headache but just dizziness. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. My back felt stiff, and I could feel myself moving. No, not me, what I'm on. My eyes came into focus to see me on a carriage, sitting on the floor. Glancing to the side I see the man from the stables on the carriage too, looking out into the woods not noticing me. Usual Alfarinn was driving. I groaned and laid back down feeling tired. What had happened? I would have been nice to know. The unknown man looked down at me. "Your up."
"No shit, genius." I muttered, closing my eyes. The carriage hit a bump and my head went up and smacked back down, hard. "Ow, fuck." I groaned, eyes still shut. I could feel his eyes on me. I guessed he was amused. "Go ahead, laugh." But he didn't. I just felt his hand lift up my head, and then lower it back down onto something soft. I opened my eyes and looked at my pillow, which appeared to be a bunch of furs. "Thanks.." I muttered, hating being helped. He just smiled at me. I was starting to get annoyed with everyone smiling at me. Obviously, I was in a bit of a grumpy mood. Then something popped into me head. "My horse! My stuff!" I yelled, bolting upright. The man looked at me kindly and pointed to behind the carriage where my horse followed with my belongings. He then lightly pushed me back down.
"You sleep, I'll wake you up when were there," he said softly. I really wanted to ignore his request, but I was sleepy. So I did as he said and fell back asleep.
Waking up this time was less annoying. I actually found myself in a warm bed, with a fire started in the fireplace across the room. Guessing by the amount of fur around, we were in a much colder, snowier area. I sighed, I hated snow. It was too cold to just go to sleep in a camp somewhere. You needed actual supplies. Which meant I needed to stay here till I could get money or something. Wherever here was, that is.
"Knock knock, it's almost ten o'clock." A musical female voice called as a girl walked in. She smiled when she saw me. "Ah, you are up. Hope you don't mind, Vincent said he promised to wake you but I insisted on letting you rest. You looked so peaceful dear." I stared at the women, a little takn back by the niceness of her. She had grey hair, pulled back in a long braid. Her eyes were a deep blue. Like the man from the stables. She must of noticed my hesitation. "Oh, I'm Lynia. You can call me Lynn." She smiled sweetly and sat at the edge of my, I mean their, bed. "You seemed very stiff in that dreaded armor though, so I took the liberty of having a maid change you. But don't worry, it's safe with all your other things in this chest," she motioned with her hand to a chest at the end of the bed, "...and that wardrobe." She finished, nodding at the wardrobe across the room. Maids? Who were they to afford a maid?
"Thank you.. I'm Sabrina." The woman, or Lynia, smiled at me, the purest kindness in her eyes.
"I know."

A hour later

         I had changed out of what looked like rags for a nightgown, into something I found among a dresser Lynia said I could look through. It was a simple dress. A light blue with a dark blue corset. I was now sitting in what seemed to be the main entrance room. Their house was pretty big. Not palace big, but still big enough if was shocking. Very few people could afford this now that the war had started. Lynia had sent me down here and told me to wait for someone to come and escort me to dinner. Apparently, I had slept a whole day and now it was dinner the next day.
I looked up at the sound of footsteps coming toward me. The man from the stables. "Hello..." I said a little unnerved. He smiled at me, acting as if he didn't see my weariness.
"Morning. You coming with us to the feast?" he asked politely. I stared on.
"Feast?"
He laughed. "It's Sun's Dawn. The 13th." I blinked stupidly.
"The Feast of the Dead? But that's in Windhelm." I said, not understanding. Windhelm was way far from Solitude. How could they be even remotely close to there?
"You, Sabrina, are in a town just north of Windhelm. You slept through the whole trip, but we didn't stop once till getting here. It should only be and hour till we get to Windhelm." I was still staring at him. He knew my name?
"Oh... why are we going? Isn't that a royalty thing?" He just smiled and started to explain how his brother was a Companion and died tragically in war. I didn't feel like mentioning I was a Companion. That the beast blood was in me. I doubt he even knew about the beast blood, but still, better safe than sorry. I spoke carefully. "So...when are we leaving?" His smile grew.
"Now if we can. But there is enough time for you to get ready if you'd like. I'll wait for you here." I quickly nodded and got up, dashing for my room. Or what was currently my room. I knew Windhelm, it was not only cold, but a cruel place. A simple dress wouldn't do much for me. Once in my room with the door closed, I stripped down and changed into my Dark Brotherhood armor. Then I grabbed my sword, which was thankfully still with my things, and fastened it to my waist. Briefly, I looked through my things to see if there was anything worth value of taking. All there was was my coin purse, which I happily shoved in my pocket. It was good to have money with you. I then left back to the boy from the stables. He was still standing there patiently waiting.
"What's your name?" I asked, simply curious.
"Vincent."
So he was who Lynia talked about.
Vincent put a hand on my back and urged me out the door into the bone chilling cold.
In one of the many carriages
         Me and Vincent had a carriage to ourselves, and Lynia, who was apparently his mother of 50, and Brutius her husband, had a carriage to themselves that trailed behind ours. Each had their own personal driver. It would feel very fancy except that we were all out in the open, merciless to the cold. It didn't seem to effect anyone but me, who had not been in a cold climate like this in years and was shivering madly. Vincent had watched me for about 20 minutes, going on shivering waiting to see if I'd adjust. When I didn't, I swear I saw sympathy in his eyes. "You're cold..." I felt like snapping at him like I had before, but I couldn't utter a word through my chattering teeth. I watched as Vincent reached under one of the benches and pulled at a wool blanket. Even with that it'll take forever to warm up, I thought. Vincnet pulled himself to the floor of the carriage and then pulled me down next to him, wrapping the blanket around us both. I shifted a bit awkwardly, but then realized that he himself was warm, and moved closer. The things I'll do for warmth. He wrapped an arm around me and I didn't argue, feeling the need to be warm. The rest of the trip was in silence.
At the entrance of Windhelm, the guards stopped us saying the town was closet for the Feast of the Dead. Lynia showed them their invite. The guards nodded at shivering me, who had to leave the blanket in the cart. Lynia explained I was Vincent's guest, even though that was news to even me. I was his guest? I rolled my eyes. What ever, as long as this feast was in doors. Thankfully it was, in the Jarls home. Inside was warm, at least two fires per room. I soaked in the heat, loving it. Till everyone was called to sit down. I was sat down in between Vincent and Lynia. I was starting to get a feeling they were protecting me. Which was weird since I could protect myself just fine. The Jarl called everyone's attention.
"I, king Ulfric, am happy to announce another celebration of the Feast of the Dead...." big boring speech, "... and further more to the point, we should respect our ancestors and give thanks..." more boring stuff I tuned out, "....And now the names of the Five Hundred Companions of Ysgramor!" He shouted.
Everyone cheered but me. I sat in silence as the names were spoken, looking at the food in front of me. Everyone was eating hungrily, but I just stared at the food, my stomach growling but I do nothing. I suddenly felt hate build up in me. Anger and fury growing and growing like a forest fire, yet started by nothing. And in the middle of everyone's chattering, I started screaming at the top of my lungs, clutching my head. The room went silent except for my screams, and the guards panicked whispers to get me out fast. But it wasn't needed, for Vincent had stood up and pulled me to my feet as I kept screaming. He then pulled me close and rushed me outside, past everyone. Once outside I was still screaming, not with anger but now distress, as if I was falling to pieces. Which I probably was. Vincent pulled me into the Candlehearth Hall, which was like an Inn. He quickly paid for a room, trying to muffle my screams with his hand as he dragged me up some stairs to a room. He then locked the door behind us as we went in, and laid me on the bed. Only then I stopped screaming and started panting, out of breath. There was only one bed I noticed, but it was big. He pushed me over a bit and laid next to me without my okay, but I didn't mind. I needed someone near, I couldn't think. He simply pulled the covers over me and not him, making sure I was comfortable. And I would have been if I didn't feel like crying. But I was too old for that. Strange, nothing like this has ever happened before. I vaguely wondered what till I drifted off to sleep.
         ------
         In my dream there's nothing. No, not darkness. Because that would be something in fact, and there was nothing, a blank void. Was I even here? Or was I looking from someone's unknown eyes? No, it was me. I had my own thoughts. I drifted into endless thoughts, the nothingness pulling me in like a black hole. I was me. Or was I? Who is me anyways. There is no me. There's no such thing. I'm just a thought. Or maybe not even that. I was a daydream. I wish that never was. Nothing.
----
         I sat up in the bed and rubbed my eyes, feeling groggy. I could only vaguely remember my dream, but I decided it wasn't worth remembering. I glanced around the room to find myself alone. All alone. That was good though, right? I bit my lip. What had happened the night before? I couldn't remember. Standing up, I yelped at my appearance. Someone had changed my clothes, and I was now in a silk night gown. I spotted my armor on the end of the bed with a folded paper on top. Walking over carefully, I picked up the paper to read it. "Dear Sabrina, I am sorry I had to leave. My mother needed me. I hope you don't mind the outfit, but you looked uncomfortable in that stiff armor. If you need me I'll be around town. -V"
I reread the letter at least 5 times. All I could thing was, 'The bastard changed me?' Finally I let it go and changed back into my armor. People didn't seem to understand that my armor was special to me. I didn't care if it wasn't the most comfortable. It was safe.
I stepped out of the small room, into the Candlehearth Hall. It was warm and there was a home scent to the place. I smiled and walked over to a table to sit. Once at the table, someone strange walked over to me and sat.
"Yes?" I asked. The man stared at me, his eyes a deep red.
"I know who you are."